[Small Group Wiki]
20 points
In your small group wiki, identify and list some of the academic elements that are embedded into the gameplay, i.e. history, economy, geography, biology.
Our group chose to play Plant Tycoon.
Academic elements embedded into the game we played included economics and biology. Biology was demonstrated in a variety of elements throughout this game. First the player needs to prepare the soil for planting, including watering it and providing nutrients, and planting the seed. You were told to add growth hormone which causes the plants to grow rapidly if you were in a hurry. Pollination and insect control and collecting were also part of this game. We found the player must continue to care for their plants by checking back regularly even if they turn off their computer, which is a real life simulation as plants require care even if you go on vacation!
Self and cross pollination are also part of this game and to find the 6 Magic Plants which is the goal of the game, you must do some cross-breeding or cross pollination. Here is where genetics would come into this game. Mendel and his pea plants would be a perfect real life example of this type of experience. When planting seeds, you could see who the parents were and also see a new species created. This appears to give you some of the information you would need to find your Magic Plants. Insect collecting was also an option in this game. The butterfly and dragonfly would be two examples of insects that may have been added to the collection. If you captured more than one of a species, you could then sell the duplicates to add income to your game (economics).
Economics was demonstrated in several other ways also. The first was purchasing plant supplies and then continuing on to the selling of the plants in the nursery. It is recommended that the player purchase a good set of shears because the standard shears evidently are not sharp enough and could damage the plant during pruning. The player starts with a set budget and needs to pay for their supplies, like nutrients, bug spray, seeds, and quick grow vitamins. You can also purchase a wheelbarrow and other supplies to use.
In the nursery, you need to set prices for your plants you are selling. If the plant doesn't sell quickly in the nursery, you may need to reduce the price so that a customer might be interested in purchasing it. Sales also can be affected by the appearance of a plant which may indicate a need for pruning or an insect infestation that you will need to take care of. These are all economic considerations.
The one problem we had with this game was the fact that the instructions were to purchase insect poison for the infestation of bugs that occurred. Poison should be a last resort as pesticides often kill the good bugs such as the ladybug and allow some of the bad bugs to survive and thrive. It would have been nice to see a box of ladybugs available for purchase or some other type of biological pest control. Over all, this was a good game and one that we could see ourselves going back to. We can see the educational benefit of this game also. It would be fun to have it available in a classroom for middle school students to experience.
I THINK WE'RE ALL SET HERE JANE IF YOU WANT TO POST IT!
Learning Activity 7-A-2
Academic Elements in Gameplay
[Small Group Wiki]20 points
In your small group wiki, identify and list some of the academic elements that are embedded into the gameplay, i.e. history, economy, geography, biology.
Our group chose to play Plant Tycoon.
Academic elements embedded into the game we played included economics and biology. Biology was demonstrated in a variety of elements throughout this game. First the player needs to prepare the soil for planting, including watering it and providing nutrients, and planting the seed. You were told to add growth hormone which causes the plants to grow rapidly if you were in a hurry. Pollination and insect control and collecting were also part of this game. We found the player must continue to care for their plants by checking back regularly even if they turn off their computer, which is a real life simulation as plants require care even if you go on vacation!
Self and cross pollination are also part of this game and to find the 6 Magic Plants which is the goal of the game, you must do some cross-breeding or cross pollination. Here is where genetics would come into this game. Mendel and his pea plants would be a perfect real life example of this type of experience. When planting seeds, you could see who the parents were and also see a new species created. This appears to give you some of the information you would need to find your Magic Plants. Insect collecting was also an option in this game. The butterfly and dragonfly would be two examples of insects that may have been added to the collection. If you captured more than one of a species, you could then sell the duplicates to add income to your game (economics).
Economics was demonstrated in several other ways also. The first was purchasing plant supplies and then continuing on to the selling of the plants in the nursery. It is recommended that the player purchase a good set of shears because the standard shears evidently are not sharp enough and could damage the plant during pruning. The player starts with a set budget and needs to pay for their supplies, like nutrients, bug spray, seeds, and quick grow vitamins. You can also purchase a wheelbarrow and other supplies to use.
In the nursery, you need to set prices for your plants you are selling. If the plant doesn't sell quickly in the nursery, you may need to reduce the price so that a customer might be interested in purchasing it. Sales also can be affected by the appearance of a plant which may indicate a need for pruning or an insect infestation that you will need to take care of. These are all economic considerations.
The one problem we had with this game was the fact that the instructions were to purchase insect poison for the infestation of bugs that occurred. Poison should be a last resort as pesticides often kill the good bugs such as the ladybug and allow some of the bad bugs to survive and thrive. It would have been nice to see a box of ladybugs available for purchase or some other type of biological pest control. Over all, this was a good game and one that we could see ourselves going back to. We can see the educational benefit of this game also. It would be fun to have it available in a classroom for middle school students to experience.
I THINK WE'RE ALL SET HERE JANE IF YOU WANT TO POST IT!